Stop Erosion of HIPAA Patient Healthcare Rights -- Deadline Feb 12
Please submit a comment to the Department of Health and Human Services to oppose HIPAA Erosion of Patient Healthcare Rights (Deadline Feb. 12).
Sample Comment
“I strongly oppose the proposed changes to HIPPA because the proposed changes extend far beyond the known benefits of coordinated care and will make patient healthcare less safe. [LIST ADDITIONAL PERSONAL OR POLICY REASONS WHY YOU FEEL HIPPA SHOULD BE PROTECTED. THEY SHOULD BE UNIQUE TO YOU.]
[Insert reason why you or a family member or a friend might be negatively impacted by the changes to the rules. Or insert a personal story.]
I urge you to not change existing HIPPA regulations on patient confidentiality.”
Background
HIPAA is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, and one of its functions is to establish policies for how patient information may be shared.
HHS has proposed changes to HIPAA under the guise of "easing regulations," so that patients diagnosed with serious mental illness (SMI) or opioid use disorder (OUD) could have their medical records released without their consent.
Some protections at stake include: A doctor may be required to release information to other doctors without patient consent. Private and sensitive health information about mental health and substance use, and even genetic information, could be shared with friends or family without consent. The patient’s right to know who is getting this health information may be limited, as well as getting a copy of patient civil rights and how to enforce them.
Ranking Democratic Senators Murray and Wyden sent a letter to HHS expressing reservations about these proposed changes, calling it a "dangerous precedent".
For a deeper dive into the subject, check out this in-depth blog post.